Ford says US owes $445 mln due to tax overpayments

DETROIT, July 11 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N), struggling amid the U.S. auto sales decline, has sued the United States, alleging that the government owes the automaker $445.3 million in interest on tax overpayments.

Ford, which posted losses totaling of $2.7 billion last year and recently abandoned its long-standing goal of returning to profitability in 2009, said the interest owed stems from tax overpayments in 1994, 1992, and the period 1983-1989.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Thursday, follows a long-running dispute between Ford and the government tax-collection agency, the Internal Revenue Service, over how interest should be calculated for excess tax payments.

Like other U.S. automakers, Ford has been struggling with declining U.S. consumer demand for large trucks and SUVs due to soaring gas prices.

The company is cutting factory and white-collar jobs and shifting production toward smaller vehicles in response to the U.S. market downturn.

An IRS representative declined to comment on the lawsuit. (Reporting by David Bailey; editing by John Wallace)